For high power laser light sources, e.g., for use in integrated circuit manufacturing photolithography processes, e.g., with excimer laser technology, e.g., KrF, at 248 μm, ArF at 193 nm or F2, at 157 nm, and currently with such utilizations for lithography as emersion technology, there has come the need for laser output power, e.g., in excess of 60 watts of laser output power and perhaps even up to 200 Watts to maintain desired photolithography throughput. In the past increases in power to meet the needs of, e.g., the integrated circuit photolithography business, have come through ever increasing pulse repetition rates, with the energy per pulse remaining relatively constant and the higher repetition rate generating the higher average output wattage. Demands for spectral power, e.g., both in KrF and ArF have risen to 100 W/pm or more also in the recent past.
Thus typical laser systems up to a year or so ago were operated at around 4 kHz for maximum output power, but to reach 60 watts higher repetition rates were needed for single chamber line narrowed gas discharge, e.g., excimer gas discharge laser systems. While much work is ongoing to solve the many engineering challenges in increasing pulse repetition rate by even 50%, i.e., to 6 kHz, the challenge of getting to 60 plus watts has been answered by the introduction a year or so ago by applicant's assignee Cymer, Inc. of a multi-chambered configuration, e.g., comprising a master oscillator (“MO”) and power amplifier (“PA”), together a “MOPA” laser system/architecture. Similar master oscillator seed providing laser systems with other amplifier configurations such as a power oscillator (“PO”) can also be used. For purposes of brevity, however, except where expressly indicated otherwise, the term MOPA or the terms MO and PA separately shall be interpreted to mean any such multi-chamber laser system, e.g., a two chamber laser system, e.g., including an oscillator seed pulse generating portion optimizing a beam parameter quality followed by amplification of the seed pulse by an amplifier portion receiving the seed pulse of whatever variety, examples of which being noted above, that serves the amplification function and is tuned for this amplification process, leaving, more or lese, in tact the particular beam quality parameter(s) optimized in the master oscillator section.
The master oscillator forms a more or less usual single chambered laser oscillator cavity, e.g., like those sold by Applicants' assignee under the designation of 6XXX or 7XXX series laser systems. However, the master oscillator in a MOPA or MOPO configuration can be specifically fine tuned for such things as bandwidth optimization and center wavelength control, and/or other beam parameter quality optimization, without concern for the excess energy absorption throughout the oscillator laser system due to an attempt to also produce in the same laser chamber, with appended line narrowing optics, a high power output, e.g., around 5-10 mJ. Such losses can occur especially in the so-called line narrowing package (“LNP”) where the normally relatively broad band output of the gas discharge laser, e.g., an excimer laser, measured in nanometers is reduced to an output bandwidth of around a picometer or less. Further, then the amplifier portion can be optimized for amplification of this output of the MO as it is passed through a lasing gain medium, e.g., generated between electrodes in the PA, e.g., during the time the output of the MO is passing through the gain medium, or, e.g., to stimulate the lasing oscillation in a PO configuration. This can generate, e.g., with applicant's assignees XLA 200 series MOPA configured laser systems upwards of around 15 mJ per pulse, at 4 kHz, resulting in 60 Watts output laser power, e.g., for ArF and even higher pulse energies and output power, e.g., 80 plus Watts for KrF, with the limitations being more driven by optical lifetime under the resultant energy densities at 248 nm (KrF) or at 193 nm (ArF) or 157 nm (F2).
Along with this ability to optimize for beam parameters, e.g., bandwidth, in the MO and power output in the amplifier portion, e.g., the PA, comes many engineering challenges to continue to meet the customer's requirements, e.g., for bandwidth stability, dose control and stability, etc. that arise from the multi-chamber, e.g., MOPA architecture, e.g., involving the timing of the supply of electrical energy to the electrodes in the MO after, e.g., receipt of a trigger signal, e.g., from a photolithography scanner and then to the electrodes of the PA at a controlled time after the gas discharge in the MO.
Applicant proposes certain control features for a multi-chambered laser control system to address the requirements presented, e.g., those as noted above.